A Dachshund took off running wild on the field at the minor league El Paso Chihuahuas game.

Doxie Takes Off After Race

At their game Saturday night, the
El Paso Chihuahuas, a minor league baseball team in Texas, held the Wiener Schnitzel weenie dog race. During a break in the game, eight
Dachshunds were invited onto the field for the race. But for one little dog, that was only the beginning. He broke free from his handler after the event and raced around the infield. He looked like he was having the time of his life while handily dodging everyone who tried to catch him. Finally, a staff member captured the high-energy pooch. “How about a big applause for Andy, the new
Dachshund catcher,” said the announcer as the crowd cheered and the dog was carried off the field. — Watch it at
CBS Sports

Pittsburgh Animal Activists Outraged at Vick Signing

After the
Pittsburgh Steelers signed Michael Vick to a one-year contract last week, the
Animal Rescue League quickly distanced itself from the team. Vick was implicated in an illegal interstate dog-fighting ring in 2007 and pleaded guilty to federal felony charges. He served 21 months in prison, and played for both the
Philadelphia Eagles and the
New York Jets after that. While the Steelers president said Vick deserves this chance, the Animal Rescue League disagreed and officials said they’ve decided to move their annual gala from Heinz Field to the CONSOL Energy Center. “The Animal Rescue League is extremely disheartened by the Pittsburgh Steelers’ decision to sign Michael Vick to a one year contract,” the group said in a press release. “We do not believe that it is appropriate for him to continue a high-profile and influential public career.” — Read it at
CBS Pittsburgh

National Zoo Reveals Panda Cub’s Gender

Days after the sad death of one of the twin panda cubs at the
National Zoo in Washington, D.C., officials shared some happier news. DNA testing revealed that the surviving cub is a boy, and his dad is Tian Tian, who also lives at the
zoo. Mom Mei Xiang had been artificially inseminated with sperm from both Tian Tian and Hui Hui, who lives at a reserve in China. The cub is gaining weight and starting to get more fur and his black markings. Mei has started to leave him for a couple of minutes at a time, and the hard-working mom ate something Sunday for the first time since she gave birth on Aug. 22. — Get updates from the
National Zoo via Facebook

Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo

Congo the giraffe calf gets a bottle from his keeper at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

Keeper Bottle-Feeds Giraffe

The
San Diego Zoo Safari Park released a sweet video Sunday of Congo, a baby giraffe, drinking his huge bottles out in his East Africa habitat. Eileen Neff, a senior mammal keeper, sits on the back of a truck with her arm covered in a blanket with a pattern that looks like a giraffe. To simulate the experience of nursing from his mother, the 2-month-old calf has to go searching under the blanket for the bottle. He gets 2.6 liters from his bottles three times a day. Congo was born on June 22. Sadly, his mother died earlier this month, and he’s been bottle-fed since then at the veterinary hospital and in the barn. He was transitioned to the outdoor habitat Friday, along with Leroy, the 2-year-old calf who keepers paired him with. Congo has been seen playing with the two female calves who were born at the park this summer. The
zoo didn’t release information on the cause of the mother’s death. — Read it and watch it at
YouTube

Lost Dog and Air Force Veteran Reunited

Precious went running for her owner, Brett Steele, when they were reunited in Louisville, Kentucky, Saturday. The
dog had gone missing Thursday, when Steele was helping his wife move some belongings from a house in Louisville to their home in Tennessee. Steele, an Air Force veteran, said Precious helps him cope with stress and anxiety. He made an emotional plea to local TV station WLKY for help in finding Precious. Luckily, the spot was seen by resident Mary George and her friend, who saw the dog wandering around a local high school and called Steele. He drove nearly five hours back to Louisville Saturday to get his
dog and give George a $500 reward. “This was a God-given gift. Everything fell right into place,” said Steele. — Watch it at Kentucky’s
WLKY